To excel at tennis it usually takes more than desire, dedication and athleticism. It takes money. Equipment is expensive, as is court time and high-caliber instruction. For Vineyard kids, though, money is not an issue. Ten years ago Vineyard Youth Tennis was created to furnish Island youth with free tennis lessons and a state-of-the-art facility of their own to play as many hours as they wanted; again completely for free.
Despite winning unanimous approval from the Martha's Vineyard
Commission this spring, a plan to build a youth tennis center near
the blinker light in Oak Bluffs now faces an uphill battle to win
approval at the town level.
Site problems, traffic impacts, resentment from two rival business owners and an exceptional program that has sparked a love of tennis in hundreds of Island children - all these were subjects for discussion at a second public hearing last week on the new building proposal by Vineyard Youth Tennis Inc.
The Martha's Vineyard Commission knows all about wrangling over golf courses, but next Thursday night they will take up tennis when they consider p